Never Saw Blue Like That: Part 1
by Erin Kaye Hashet
Summary: "Kaitlyn, this is William Mulder. He'll be your lab partner for the year. You two can sit at that table over there."


Title: Never Saw Blue Like That   
Author: Estrellita, aka Erin Kaye Hashet   
Rating: G   
Category: S, R   
Keywords: Uh... other character romance, I guess.   
FutureFic... William, maybe.   
Distribution: Anywhere you want is fine with me!   
Feedback: EKHashet@hotmail.com   
Spoilers: Existence   
Summary: "Kaitlyn, this is William Mulder. He'll   
be your lab partner for the year. You two can sit   
at that table over there."   
Disclaimer: I don't own Mulder, Scully, William,   
or the song "Never Saw Blue Like That." However,   
I do own Kaitlyn Taylor. She's all mine!   
Author's Notes: At the beginning this doesn't look   
very much like a fanfic, but keep reading- it turns   
into one. Mulder and Scully will show up eventually.   
  
Never Saw Blue Like That   
by Estrellita, aka Erin Kaye Hashet   
  
I was fourteen the year we moved to Maryland. "We"   
meant my father, Joe; my stepmother, Adrienne; my   
seventeen-year-old brother Sebastian; Adrienne's   
twin boys, seven-year-old Mike and Ricky; and me. By   
then, I'd lost track of how many times we'd moved. My   
dad was in the army, so we had to move around a lot.   
"Army brat," I think, is the term they use for kids like   
me. Ironic, really, since I was anything but a brat.   
  
My stepbrothers were the real brats. You remember   
that one kid in your second-grade class who was loud   
and rude and obnoxious- "disruptive" is the word   
teachers use- and always getting sent to the principal's   
office? Well, that was Mike and Ricky in a nutshell. At   
home they were no better. They thought it was funny to   
do things like read my diary or lock me out of the house,   
or spit mashed potatoes all over me at dinner. So,   
needless to say, they took up a lot of Dad and Adrienne's   
time and energy.   
  
The rest of their time and energy was taken up by   
Sebastian. Sebastian was seventeen and got into   
worse and worse trouble with every move. He'd been   
caught skipping school, keying cars, getting drunk,   
doing drugs, you name it. He, perhaps, took up even more   
time than Mike and Ricky.   
  
My real mom died when I was nine. I was upset when she   
died, but while she was alive, I never really liked her.   
She was an alcoholic, and when she was drunk, which   
was often, she had a horrible temper. She was angry   
and loud and would bang things and yell at me. She had   
died in a drunken car crash.   
  
My father was an okay guy once you got past the fact   
that he didn't pay much attention to me. I could forgive   
him for that, considering what else he had to deal with.   
What I could not forgive was how he and Adrienne had   
gotten together. Adrienne had been a friend of my mother's.   
When she died, Dad was sad, but I remember thinking that   
he seemed a bit relieved. Soon I found out why. He and   
Adrienne married as soon as she finalized her divorce from   
the husband she'd been cheating on with my father. The   
next time we moved, she, Mike, and Ricky came with us.   
Even though I hadn't liked my mother, the idea that my   
father had been disloyal to her made my blood boil. How   
*dare* he?   
  
Then there was Adrienne, who gave new meaning to the   
term "wicked stepmother." She would have liked me a lot   
better if I had been the popular, "wicked cool" teenager   
that I'm sure she was. Before my first day at my high school   
in Missouri, she'd said to me, all conversational, like a   
girlfriend, "So, Kait, are you going to try out for   
cheerleading?"   
  
I'd looked at her in disbelief. Smart, buck-   
toothed, uncoordinated girls like me did not go out for   
cheerleading. "No," I'd replied. After that, Adrienne had   
no use for me.   
  
This is the point in the story where most people   
in my position would say they turned to drugs or   
alcohol or sex. But Sebastian had gotten all the   
rebellious genes of our family. I had gotten the   
smart genes. So instead, I turned to school.   
Getting good grades was the greatest pleasure in   
my life. It was so satisfying to get a really hard test   
back with an A+ on top. It gave me a kind of happiness   
that I couldn't get anywhere else. I wondered sometimes   
if that was how Sebastian felt when he did drugs.   
  
It hadn't been quite as satisfying at my high   
school in Missouri, though. I'd found that   
honors students tended to be the nicest   
ones in the school- less likely to make fun of   
me because I was smart and because my   
teeth stuck out- and since I was smart, I was   
usually in honors classes. But my school in   
Missouri didn't believe in grouping- thought it   
was degrading or something. So I ended up in   
classes with all kinds of people, many of whom   
made fun of me. But I was optimistic about my new   
high school in Maryland. This school did group   
us by level. Plus, I had braces by that time, and   
my teeth looked a lot better.   
  
Unfortunately, I found on my first day of   
school that honors students may be nicer   
than most kids, but no less cliqueish. They   
were all divided into little groups and didn't   
pay one lick of attention to me. A few kids   
introduced themselves in a kind of oh-hey-   
you're-the-new-girl-nice-to-meet-you kind of   
way, but that was it. It was like that for my   
first two classes, English and history.   
  
Then came Physical Science Honors.   
  
When I got to the class I had no idea where   
to sit. Everyone sat at these big, heavy lab   
tables, in groups of two. The teacher was   
really nice. Her name was Ms. Larson, and   
she was young and pretty, with short blonde   
hair. I went up to her and asked, very quietly,   
"Um, hi. Um, I don't know where I should sit. . ."   
  
"Oh, yes," she replied, and introduced me to   
the class. "Class, this is Kaitlyn Taylor. She   
just moved here from..." She looked at me for   
an answer.   
  
"Missouri," I supplied.   
  
"Missouri," she echoed. "We're going to have   
to find a lab partner for Kaitlyn. Let's see." She   
pursed her lips and scanned the room. "Well, we   
have one group of three that we can split up." She   
looked at a group of three boys sitting towards the   
back of the room. "Will, would you mind being   
partners with Kaitlyn for the rest of the year?"   
  
The boy looked surprised, but he just said, "Okay."   
  
"Great." Smiling, Ms. Larson walked me toward the   
back of the room. "Kaitlyn, this is William Mulder.   
He'll be your lab partner for this year. You two can   
sit at that table over there."   
  
I took a good look at Will then. My God, he was cute.   
He was pretty tall, and thin, with reddish-brown hair   
and these amazing true-blue eyes.   
  
He looked over at me as we sat at the table together.   
"Hi," he whispered with a smile.   
  
Oh, God, what a smile. He looked about a million times   
cuter than he already did when he smiled. And those   
eyes- I had never before seen eyes that were such a   
deep shade of blue. "Hi," I quickly whispered back.   
  
"Okay, guys," Ms. Larson said, "take out the pre-lab   
I gave you yesterday." She walked over and handed it   
to me.   
  
I looked it over and grimaced. It had to do with the   
laws of physics- we hadn't studied that in my old   
school. This was one of the worst parts of moving-   
being behind in schoolwork. It happened all the time.   
  
"What's wrong?" Will asked me suddenly. Apparently   
he'd noticed the look on my face.   
  
I looked at him. "Nothing," I replied quietly. "Just- I   
haven't had this before."   
  
"Oh." He sounded concerned- honestly concerned.   
"Well, we're lab partners- I can help you with it."   
  
Now he had my full attention. This was something   
completely new- a guy being nice to me for no reason   
on my first day of school. It was so unexpected that   
for a second I didn't know what to say. Finally I just   
whispered, "Thanks."   
  
* * *   
Will was a good teacher. After hearing his   
explanation and reading over the section in   
my textbook, I actually mastered the laws of   
physics pretty well. When we got our lab report   
back a few days later, it had an A on top of it. *Yes!*   
I thought. I was happy for the rest of the day.   
Now that I think about it, grades like that were probably   
what kept me from having low self-esteem, which most   
kids in my position would probably have had.   
  
Then Ms. Larson announced that we would be having   
a test on the whole chapter. That got me really   
nervous, since we'd been in the middle of the chapter   
on my first day. I would have to learn the beginning of   
the chapter on my own.   
  
So I studied. And studied and studied and studied.   
*You can do this,* I told myself. *Just study hard   
enough, and you can do this.*   
  
I took the test. And two days later, I nervously   
drummed my fingers on the lab table as Ms. Larson   
handed back the tests. "This was a hard test," she   
said. "Really, I'm impressed. I didn't expect many A's,   
but we did have a few."   
  
"Sweet!" I heard Will say under his breath next to   
me as his test was handed back. He'd gotten a 91.   
  
Ms. Larson started to walk toward me. I held my   
breath as she set my test down on the table.   
"Congratulations, Kaitlyn," she said with a smile.   
In disbelief I looked down at the number written at   
the top of the test. 100.   
  
"Hey!" Next to me Will sounded surprised and happy.   
"I thought you said you hadn't had any of this   
before!"   
  
"I *haven't*," I said, still not believing my eyes.   
100. I looked over the test. There wasn't a single   
correction mark anywhere on it. My face broke   
into a smile. I was pretty proud of myself.   
  
It was kind of pathetic. I felt like a little kid who   
was proud of a painting that she'd made in art class,   
but I was really dying for Dad and Adrienne to see it.   
I guess I was hoping that if they saw it that maybe   
they'd think, "Well, we have one juvenile delinquent   
and two second-grade delinquents, but we also have   
one really great kid- she's smart and she works hard   
and gets good grades."   
  
When I got home, there was a note on the table:   
  
Kaitlyn,   
We have a therapy meeting with Sebastian from   
five to seven. Before we leave for the meeting we'll   
pick up Mike and Ricky from day care and drop them   
off at home. Please watch them until we get back.   
For dinner you can make macaroni and cheese for   
the three of you. See you when we get back.   
Love,   
Dad and Adrienne   
  
My head dropped. I let out a long, exasperated sigh.   
Teriffic, I thought, just teriffic. I set the test down   
on the kitchen counter, in hopes that Dad and Adrienne   
would see it when they got home. Then I headed to my   
room to try and get done as much homework as I could   
before I had to baby-sit the little brats.   
  
A little before five, the front door opened and Mike   
and Ricky came bounding through the door. "Ricky got   
sent to the prin-ci-paaal..." Mike sang out.   
  
"Shut up!" Ricky yelled. "I did not!"   
  
"Yes, you diiiiid," Mike taunted. "He stuck bubble gum   
in a girl's hair on pur-pose..."   
  
"I did not! It popped out of my mouth."   
  
"Enough!" I yelled, exasperated with them even   
though they'd only been home thirty seconds. I   
exhaled. "Look, guys, I have homework to do here.   
You guys go watch TV or something, okay?" I figured   
if they were in the next room, they'd be entertained by   
the TV and I'd still be able to keep an eye on them.   
  
"But I'm *hungry*," Mike whined.   
  
"Me *too*," Ricky chimed in.   
  
I sighed. "Fine," I said. "Go watch TV and I'll make you   
some macaroni and cheese."   
  
I heard them flipping from channel to channel in the   
family room as I studied the directions on the macaroni   
and cheese box. While I was microwaving it, I suddenly   
got a funny feeling. The TV had been on one channel   
for awhile- and it was the news. Somehow I didn't think   
Mike and Ricky were big fans of the news...   
  
Then I heard the toilet flush, followed by giggling.   
Not a good sign.   
  
When I went to check the bathroom, I found Mike   
and Ricky standing by the toilet, into which was   
stuffed my blue cardigan sweater, which I had placed   
on the back of my chair.   
  
"Oh, my God!" I cried, trying desperately to yank my   
sweater from the toilet. I pulled at it and pulled at it   
until finally it came free- soaking wet and torn in the   
sleeve.   
  
I'll leave the next two hours up to your imagination.   
Suffice to say that I did not get one bit of homework   
done.   
  
A little after seven, Dad, Adrienne, and Sebastian   
came through the door. Dad had a pizza box in his arms   
and Adrienne was carrying some papers. "Honestly,"   
she muttered, setting the papers down on top of my   
test. She rubbed her forehead as if it ached. "I have   
had such a bad day."   
  
I stood quietly, looking at my test underneath all those   
papers. "I didn't know you were getting pizza," I said. "I   
wouldn't have made macaroni and cheese."   
  
"Well, you had to feed Mike and Ricky something,   
Kaitlyn. You really think they would have made it to   
seven o'clock without food?" Dad replied irritably,   
opening the pizza box. Therapy meetings always made   
him grouchy.   
  
"How were they, by the way?" Adrienne asked,   
taking a piece of pizza.   
  
I was silent for a moment, still looking at the test.   
I sighed. "They were fine," I replied finally. "I have to   
go do homework." I turned and headed upstairs. Maybe   
they'd see it later.   
  
* * *   
When I went downstairs in the morning, my eyes   
automatically drifted to the counter where the test   
had been. It wasn't there.   
  
Sebastian was arguing with Dad. "I can't believe   
you're making me take the bus!" he exploded. "I'm not   
a freshman, Dad! Nobody in my grade takes the bus!"   
  
"Sebastian, you actually think we could trust you with   
a car?" Dad replied incredulously. "After all your   
shenanigans? All your accidents?"   
  
I checked the refrigerator, not that Dad and   
Adrienne had ever put one of my tests on the   
refrigerator before, but you never know. Then   
a horrible idea occurred to me...   
  
"Sebastian, if you'd act like an adult, we'd treat   
you like one," Dad continued.   
  
"If you'd *treat* me like an adult, I'd *act* like one!"   
he countered.   
  
I opened the trash compactor as they continued   
arguing. Sitting on top were all of the papers   
Adrienne had had last night. Shakily, I lifted them.   
  
There it was. They'd thrown out my A. My 100.   
They hadn't even looked at it.   
  
Over the years, I've become an expert at holding in   
tears when I don't want people to see me cry. I look   
at the ceiling and let the tears run backwards, behind   
my eyes. But sooner or later, the tears had to come out.   
I hoped that this time it would be later rather than   
sooner.   
  
I held the tears in through the whole bus ride, but I   
knew it couldn't last. As soon as I got to school, I ran   
right to the bathroom and locked myself in a stall.   
  
My eyes ran like faucets, and since there was no one   
in the bathroom to hear me, I sobbed loudly. *I hate my   
life,* I thought miserably. *I hate my life.*   
  
When I couldn't cry anymore, I wiped my eyes and   
opened the stall door. I looked around...oh, God.   
  
There were urinals on the wall. I couldn't believe   
it. I was in the *boys'* bathroom!   
  
I stood there for a moment, contemplating what to   
do. Should I go outside? Someone might see me   
coming out! But while I lingered in indecision, the   
bathroom door swung open.   
  
*NO!* I felt like crying out. I closed my eyes for a   
second. I was caught red-handed now, and there   
was nothing I could do.   
  
But the person who walked through the door   
was Will Mulder.   
  
He stared at me for a second in disbelief. "Kaitlyn?"   
he said, and his tone of voice wasn't mocking or hostile,   
but soft and a bit confused. "What are you doing   
in here?"   
  
That he wasn't making fun of me was heartening, but   
I was still embarassed. "I-" I took a gulp of air. "I- I'm   
sorry, I must have come into the wrong bathroom."   
  
He was looking at me curiously. "You've been crying!"   
he said with concern when he saw my tearstained   
face. "What's wrong?"   
  
*Everything,* I thought. *I hate my parents, I hate   
my brothers, nobody appreciates me, and my really   
cute lab partner just caught me in the boys'   
bathroom.* Suddenly, everything exploded inside   
of me and my eyes filled with tears again.   
  
"Hey," he said, his voice soft and gentle. He took   
my arm. "C'mon."   
  
I could have said no, could have told him that no, I   
just wanted to be alone, because I did, kind of. But   
something about him made me trust him, made me just   
want to follow him. And I did- right to Cafeteria II,   
where he led me.   
  
The door was open, but the cafe was completely   
silent.   
  
"Nobody's ever in here at the beginning of the   
day," he said to me as we sat down at a table. "People   
go to Cafe I to drink coffee and stuff, but nobody   
ever goes here. Except me," he added. "Sometimes I go   
here when I just want to think."   
  
I managed a shaky smile. "I'll remember that."   
  
"So what is wrong?" he asked me again.   
  
I exhaled. "It's probably going to sound stupid," I   
said finally. "It's just- well, I wanted my parents   
to see that test I got 100 on, so I left it on the   
counter, and- and they didn't even look at it. They   
just threw it out."   
  
Will looked surprised. "Oh," he said, and though   
he was trying to be sympathetic, I could tell he   
didn't really understand.   
  
"And- and just other things," I continued. "Like   
last night, they made me baby-sit my stepbrothers-   
who stuffed my sweater down the toilet- and they   
didn't even say thank you." I sighed. "I really hate   
my parents sometimes," I confessed.   
  
Will smiled. "I know exactly how you feel," he said.   
"Sometimes I hate mine, too."   
  
For the first time that day, I smiled. "Really?"   
  
"Yeah," he said. "Parents suck, don't they?"   
  
"You're telling me?"   
  
"Now, you're *sure* you're okay?" Will asked me   
again.   
  
"Yeah," I said, and smiled to show that I was.   
  
"Good," said Will, and flashed his gorgeous smile   
back at me.   
  
I think that was the moment I began to fall in   
love with him.   
  
* * *   
Over the next couple of weeks I got to know Will   
better. He had a cool sense of humor, and being   
his lab partner, I got to see a lot of it. He wasn't   
popular, exactly, but the people who knew him liked   
him, and he had a large group of friends he sat with   
at lunch. He was the only freshman on the varsity   
basketball team, and in the spring he was going out   
for baseball. He was smart- he was in all honors   
classes like me, although science was the only class   
we had together. And he was the sweetest guy I had   
ever met. Ever.   
  
The most amazing thing was that he liked me. Me,   
Kaitlyn Marie Taylor, who no guy had ever looked   
at twice before. For a long time I wasn't sure- I   
thought maybe he was just nice to everybody, and   
the way he treated me wasn't anything special. But   
then one day he asked me, "What lunch do you have?"   
  
"Lunch two," I replied.   
  
Will looked surprised. "Really? Me, too, but I've   
never seen you there. Where do you usually sit?"   
  
I blushed. Since I'd moved, I'd been eating lunch in   
the library. I hadn't yet made anyone whom I   
considered to be a close enough friend to eat with,   
so it was much less uncomfortable to just eat there.   
"Um- in the library," I confessed embarassedly.   
  
To Will's credit, he didn't say anything to make me   
more embarassed. What he said was, "Do you want   
to sit with us today?"   
  
I stared at him in disbelief, but of course I answered,   
"Yes!"   
  
And that was just the beginning. At luch I got to   
know his friends- who were all very nice- but it was   
Will who I was constantly talking to.   
  
Then one spring day, something I had never thought   
would ever happen happened. Will asked me if I'd like   
to go to a movie with him.   
  
I stared at him in disbelief. For a moment I thought   
that he was kidding, that he was playing some kind   
of a cruel joke. How could this be happening to me?   
To me, a nerd whom no one had ever looked twice at?   
But Will was so sweet, I couldn't imagine   
him ever doing something like this to me.   
  
My face broke into a wide smile. "Yes!" I cried. "Yes,   
I'd love to!"   
  
So that weekend I stood tapping my foot nervously   
as I waited for Will to meet me at my house. Actually,   
nervous is an understatement. I had never been so   
terrified in my life.   
  
*Why?* I asked myself as I studied my reflection in the   
mirror. *This is Will. He's a nice guy. You know him.*   
  
But I had never been on a date before. I hadn't the   
faintest idea how to act, and my heart was about to   
pound its way out of my chest. I bent over, my stomach   
tying itself in knots. I was afraid I was going to be sick.   
  
The doorbell rang, and I drew in a shaky breath. *It's   
okay, Kaitlyn,* I told myself. It's just a date.*   
  
I went downstairs and opened the door. I attempted   
a smile. "Hi, Will," I said, trying to keep my voice from   
shaking.   
  
"Hi, Kait," he said with a smile. "You look nice."   
  
"So do you," I replied, figuring that was a safe thing   
to say.   
  
"Uh, you don't mind walking to the theater, do you?"   
he asked me.   
  
Surprised, I replied, "No."   
  
"It's just you live close enough," he said, "and I   
thought it might be nice to take a walk."   
  
"Um-okay," I replied with a nervous smile.   
  
We headed out the door toward the theater. Silently.   
I looked over at Will, dying to say something to start a   
conversation- but I had no idea what to say.   
  
"So, uh," Will said finally, "did you want to see this   
movie?"   
  
I looked up. "Oh! Uh, yeah," I said stupidly. "Yeah,   
I did."   
  
"Oh," Will replied. "That's. . . good."   
  
"Yeah."   
  
More silence.   
  
"So, have you done the science homework yet?" Will   
asked.   
  
Flustered, I stammered, "Ah- no, not yet."   
  
"Oh," said Will. "Me either."   
  
I'd skip the details of the rest of our walk to the   
theater, but honestly, there are no details to skip. I   
didn't trust myself to put a complete sentence together,   
and Will eventually gave up on trying to start a   
conversation.   
  
By the time we took our seats in the theater, I was   
fighting back tears. *My one chance to go on a date   
and I blew it,* I thought miserably. *And it just had to   
be with the sweetest, cutest guy I've ever met.*   
  
My mood didn't change when the movie started. I felt my   
heart sinking not long after the opening credits. The   
movie was *horrible.* I sat there in misery for about   
twenty minutes.   
  
I glanced over at Will. He didn't look very happy either.   
Slowly, he looked over at me. I looked back at him. And at   
the exact same time, we both burst out laughing.   
  
"Shhh!" snapped the woman behind us, who, amazingly,   
must have actually *liked* the movie.   
  
"This movie sucks," Will whispered. "Let's get out of   
here."   
  
We were still laughing when we went back outside.   
  
"Oh, God," I gasped between laughs, "that was the   
worst movie I have ever seen!"   
  
Will struggled to regain control of his self. "Let's go   
back to my house," he said. "We can watch a video there."   
  
"What do you have?" I asked.   
  
"Just Disney movies," he said. "Plus *Caddyshack* and   
*Steel Magnolias.* My parents have some weird emotional   
attachment to those movies." His smile faded. "Oh, yeah, I   
forgot. My parents are going to be there. You'll have to   
try to ignore them."   
  
I laughed. "Oh, come on," I said. "They can't be worse   
than my parents."   
  
End Part 1/2 of Never Saw Blue Like That


End file.
